This blog is written by Lee Gale Gruen to help Baby Boomers, seniors, and those soon to retire find joy, excitement, and satisfaction in life after retirement. Her public lectures on this subject are titled, “Reinventing Yourself in Your Retirement Years.” Her memoir, available at Amazon.com, is: Adventures with Dad: A Father and Daughter’s Journey Through a Senior Acting Class. Click here for her website: http://AdventuresWithDadTheBook.com

NEWS: My short story, “A New Stage in Life,” will be published by Chicken Soup for the Soul. It will be available in bookstores on October 6, 2015 in their book to be called: Chicken Soup for the Soul: Think Possible.

Now, on to my blog:

Why am I making an effort to conserve water when it’s being wasted, squandered or stolen by others? Why am I still seeing so many very green lawns around Los Angeles?

Within a one week period while driving, I came upon two broken water pipes, this one in Beverly Hills and another one in Sherman Oaks. The precious water was rushing down the street into the gutters.

There was a news item a few months ago about someone filling up a water tank truck from a municipal water faucet and driving it to a large property outside of that municipality which was owned by a famous person. I was so incensed that I wrote a letter to the Los Angeles Times which they printed on 7-12-15 in the Opinion section. Here is my letter:

Oh Magnum, How Could You?
All by yourself with just a few bad acts, you may have added a new verb to our lexicon: to selleck. To anyone else thinking of “sellecking,” don’t you dare steal my water in this drought. It’s bad enough that old pipes are breaking and flooding streets with the precious water I have been trying so hard to conserve, one toilet flush at a time.

The answer to my question at the beginning of this post: Because, for me, it’s the right thing to do. Don’t let your actions be dictated by the behavior of others. When you feel something is wrong, don’t opt for that choice just because someone else does.

Live your life on the moral path that’s right for you. Don’t live it always trying to get away with something, trying to screw the next guy before he screws you, always worrying about being caught. You will feel better about yourself and glide more smoothly as you go. Play nice on the playground even when others don’t.

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One response to “It’s the Right Thing to Do”

I rinse with a shower spray, turn it off, soap up, rinse the soap off and get the heck outta the shower. My wife and I also practice the adage, “If it’s yellow, it’s mellow. If it’s brown, flush it down.” Just trying to do our part.